This invention relates generally to air conditioning, and, in particular, to air conditioning for a mobile temperature controlled container.
More specifically, this invention relates to a mobile temperature controlled container for transporting perishable goods. As in most air conditioned containers of this type, the present air conditioning unit includes an open outdoor section and an enclosed indoor section. Space in this environment is in short supply and in an effort to save space, the component part of the indoor section is packed in an extremely limited amount of space. This, in turn, places an unwanted restriction upon the movement of air through this part of the unit, thus increasing the power consumption as well as increasing the air pressure resistance on the outdoor section of the unit.
Many prior art units used to service mobile containers do not effectively distribute the conditioned air throughout the container. As a result, the temperature in the container may vary between zones that are too cool and zones that are too warm. One primary reason for poor distribution of conditioned air is the inability of the air conditioned unit to xe2x80x9cthrowxe2x80x9d the conditioned air over the length of the container. Another is the unit""s inability to distribute conditioned air uniformly in both a vertical and a horizontal direction.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to improve air conditioning systems for servicing mobile temperature controlled containers of the type used to transport perishable goods and the like.
It is a further object of the present invention to improve the efficiency of an air conditioning unit for controlling the temperature within a mobile container.
A still further object of the present invention is to improve the air handling properties of an air conditioning system for providing conditioned air to a mobile container.
Another object of the present invention is to improve the air distribution characteristics of an air conditioning unit used to service a mobile temperature controlled container.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by an air conditioning unit used to provide conditioned air to a mobile temperature controlled container having an improved efficiency and air handling capability without sacrificing valuable space. The present unit contains an outdoor section that is open to the surrounding ambient and an enclosed indoor section through which return air drawn from the container is conditioned by either heating or cooling the air and supplying the conditioned air back to the container. The indoor section contains a heat exchanger coil and a blower wheel mounted in an open sided compartment over the coil. The compartment includes a scroll-shaped lower section in which the blower wheel is mounted for rotation and an upper discharge section into which the blower wheel discharges conditioned air that is drawn through the coil. The open side of the compartment is closed by a cover having an air inlet opening located adjacent to the blower wheel and a discharge nozzle that is adjacent to the discharge section of the compartment. The nozzle is arranged to pass into the compartment and contains a series of flow deflector plates for enhancing the flow of conditioned air delivered into the container.